See You Again
by Noitpmeder
Summary: Sometimes, bad circumstances have a way of bringing certain people together again and reaffirming certain relationships - a way of putting things in perspective. A targeted division is one such circumstance. My take on what could happen in the Season finale and what I think Nick could've wrote on the inside of his vest.
1. Chapter 1

Rivulets of blood leaked steadily through her fingers and stained her hands a dark red. In response, she desperately clenched harder against the wound. The bleeding slowed somewhat but the pool beneath him still grew steadily bigger.

"Hold on."

Her voice cracked and she pressed down harder on his chest, trying to regain some measure of control.

"Sam, please." She begged. "Hold on."

Andy watched with alarm as the color drained from his face and his eyes narrowed into mere slits. In response, she pressed down on the wound so hard that her muscles protested against the strain. Her breathing became shallow and panicked as she continued to watch his life leave him, helpless.

"Where are the damn paramedics?!" She demanded, glancing around the precinct in search of help. It was then that she noticed that all of the surrounding police officers had taken cover, their weapons drawn and aimed at the suspect.

Her brown eyes followed their gaze to Ford, still standing. His finger was hovering over the trigger, preparing to squeeze off a second round.

Suddenly, the silence around her was broken as sound returned and time sped up again.

A cacophony of shouts and warnings drummed against her ears. Instinctively, she leaned over Sam's body, protecting it from the possibility of any further damage. Her eyes grew wide and wild as she assessed her limited options.

_We're going to die._ She thought grimly.

Her body hummed with adrenaline as the tension in the standoff grew. Then, a shot was fired; the familiar crack and simultaneous echo was so loud that she flinched.

Her sight blurred and lost focus as tears clouded her vision. Through the watery film, she still managed to watch as Ford dropped to his knees then quickly crumpled to the ground. Confused, she glanced around for the shooter but found that a dark object obstructed her view.

Andy relaxed her hand and an ominous clatter echoed in response.

She barely glanced at the abandoned gun before her attention turned back to Ford, where officers were restraining him. Satisfied, she turned her focus towards Sam again, relieved that they were out of immediate danger.

Her relief was short-lived, however, when she realized that he'd stopped breathing.

"No. No, no, no . . ."

x

.

x

The paramedics wheeled Sam into the hospital where he was quickly surrounded by a doctor and a team of nurses. A bunch of medical jargon was exchanged and then the gurney was being whisked away down towards another part of the hospital.

Andy kept pace with them and watched as the team went immediately to work. She knew she wouldn't be able to stay with him for much longer so she leaned down and whispered in his ear before placing a soft kiss against his lips.

"Ma'am."

One of the nurses placed a firm hand on Andy's shoulder, preventing her from following any further.

"Ma'am, you can't g- Ma'am?!"

But it was too late. Andy was already unconscious, her body hitting the tiled floor with a distinct thud.

x

.

x

There was one spot on the wall of the waiting room - it looked whiter than the area around it. Transfixed, he stared at it, wondering how it'd happened. He blinked, his vision refocused, and he noticed a similar spot only a few inches away. It was almost like they were meant to be there - together.

"Nick." A gentle hand touched his shoulder and he started, glancing up at Traci. She looked concerned and he realized that she must've been calling his name for some time now.

"Nick, what happened?" She asked as she settled into a seat next to him.

"Are you asking as a friend or as a detective?"

"A friend."

He averted his gaze from hers and stared intently at the spots on the wall again.

"He was going to shoot me." He said suddenly. "I didn't even see it coming. He was wearing a police uniform and I didn't even recognize him until he aimed his gun at me. He could've killed me but then- " He broke off.

"Then what?" Traci coaxed gently.

"Then Swarek happened. He just appeared out of nowhere. He started shouting at Ford and then the bastard just shot him - shot him with the bullet he'd intended for me." He paused. "Then, I blinked and Andy was suddenly there, applying pressure to Swarek's wound and keeping him alive. I should've just drawn my damn gun and shot him then."

"You were in shock, Nick. No one expected Ford to be at the precinct."

"No. No one but them. They figured it out and now they're both fighting for their lives."

Traci's brows drew together in confusion. "What do you mean? Ford's injury wasn't life-threatening."

Nick returned his gaze to meet hers and smiled bitterly, "But Andy's is."

"What? Andy was shot?" She asked quietly, disbelief evident in her tone.

"No one knew even she was hurt until they arrived at the hospital. She passed out in the hallway with a nurse - coded right there on the floor." He blew out a deep breath then continued. "It appears that she and Ford shot at the exact same time, which is why is seemed like there was only one gunshot. She hit him in the vest, knocked the wind right out of him and cracked a few ribs - nothing too serious. However, since she was kneeling, he got an angle on her and his shot entered just above her vest; a few inches below her neck is what they told me - nicked her collarbone and there was no exit wound because of the vest. No one noticed because she acted like she was fine. Probably the adrenaline."

There was a long stretch of silence between them as they both mulled over the events of the past few days and the consequences that had resulted. They were both lost in their own thoughts.

The silence was finally broken by a stifled sob wrenched from Traci's throat. She dropped her head in her hands as the tears began to flow free and unchecked.

"They're going to die." She murmured brokenly._ Just like Jerry._

* * *

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	2. Chapter 2

_"Sam."_

A gentle hand caressed his cheek and unconsciously, he leaned into its embrace. For a moment, he imagined he was at home in his bed with Marlo lying next to him and the start of a new day on the horizon.

_"Please, Sam."_

It was the same voice but it'd changed. He could sense a deep sadness within its depths.

Suddenly, his mind's eye conjured images before him. The colors were blurry and the shapes were distorted but they swiftly began to focus. He felt a sense of dread race through him as he rounded a corner in the precinct and faced Ford.

He flinched when the gun cracked and the bullet tore through his lower abdomen. There was a brief explosion of pain and the sensation of falling but then, she was there.

Andy was kneeling over him, whispering soothing words even while her own eyes filled with a mixture of worry and tears.

He felt his consciousness slip and his eyes narrowed into slits.

Andy began to panic, begging him to hold on but before he could respond, the memory had already fractured, leaving him in darkness.

He waited.

The colors and images never returned but after a brief stretch of silence, a murmur of distant voices sounded and the familiar voice from earlier returned. He strained to listen but then skin brushed against his ear and he could easily make out the whispered words that followed.

"Sam, you need to keep fighting. Okay? I'll be right here when you wake up. Please." There was a short pause and a breath. "I love you."

The memories ended.

He drew in a breath then slowly forced his eyelids apart, momentarily stunned by the dimmed lights after so many hours in complete darkness. After a few minutes, though, his eyes slowly adjusted to his surroundings.

He glanced expectantly around the room, searching for the familiar voice and the face that matched.

His eyes finally rested on the figure standing by the window, glancing out at the morning sky.

"Hey." He croaked, his throat dry.

The figure turned and smiled, "You're awake." She exclaimed quietly as she moved towards him.

His excitement dissipated immediately when he recognized the person as Marlo, not Andy.

_x_

_._

_x_

Nick settled into the chair next to Andy's bed after retrieving his latest cup of coffee.

He glanced at her unconscious form and sighed, "I didn't see this coming." He admitted. "I thought I'd be the one that was shot today, not you. I even wrote you a note in case anything happened."

He set his cup of coffee aside on a small end table and unstrapped his vest. He glanced at the message he'd written there and smiled at the words. "You're too much of an optimist to write a goodbye letter. Of course, that's one of the reasons I l- " His smile dropped, replaced by a confused frown, as he read the second part of his message.

For a few minutes, his gaze continually read and re-read the words he'd penned there in silver sharpie, unable to believe he'd actually written them.

The first part was short, sweet, and exactly how he'd intended it to be.

_Andy, the moments we spent together were the moments when I wanted for nothing. You gave me everything I ever dreamed of having but all I can give you in return is my heart. I love you._

It was the second part of his message that left him feeling confused. He'd written the message in its entirety in the heat of the moment; his adrenaline had been pumping and his heart had been beating anxiously against his chest in anticipation.

Nick had recognized that there was a very real possibility that he could get shot and killed while responding to dispatch's next call. On a day when 15 Division had been targeted and its officers randomly gunned down, it wasn't much of a stretch to imagine he could be next.

Still, he wondered what he'd been thinking at that moment to write those last few words. His fingers gently traced them and he felt tears appear unbidden in his eyes.

Nick glanced at the woman lying next to him, unconscious. She looked beautiful, despite the white pallor of her skin and the bandages peeking out from beneath the neckline of her hospital gown.

It occurred to him that despite the relationship that they had (and it was a good one), it wasn't the same one as the one she'd had with Swarek. He was okay with that, more than okay because he'd known that it wouldn't be the same and he hadn't wanted it to be.

Nick had never meant to act as a replacement for the detective and he wasn't. Nick's relationship with Andy was easy: after six months of living together undercover, they knew each other better than most best friends. They complemented each other well and they were honest with one another. The occasions when they fought were rare and almost always resolved quickly.

They were damn near perfect together yet something was still different and not in the way that he wanted it to be. It was in the way they acted around each other - how the detective sulked more than usual when he saw the pair of them together and how Andy suddenly started trying too hard at everything.

He stood, dropped his vest onto the chair, and headed outside, desperately needing some fresh air.

Outside the window, the horizon became alight with the morning's rosy hues. A few rays of sunlight crept through the window and stretched across the room, creating various blocks of light.

One in particular fell across some markings written in silver sharpie.

_P.S. Take care of her, Sam._

* * *

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**_Let me know what you think. Do you like the direction this is heading?_**

**_A/N: I should've mentioned this in the first chapter but updates will probably be weekly on Saturday or Sunday, depending on my schedule._**


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